The race: It was all together at the bottom of the second-to-last climb, the Muur van Geraardsbergen, with 17 kilometers to go. Over the top, Steffen Wesemann, Leif Hoste and Dave Bruylandts got away and made it stick until the end. Hoste sat in the break while Wesemann and Bruylandts did all the work. At the sprint, Bruylandts took off and Wesemann just watched, forcing Hoste to chase. Back together, Hoste led out the sprint and Wesemann came around him for a clean win. Favorites Bettini, Van Petegem, Vandenbroucke, etc. couldn't get up to the leaders.